How to workaround "The attempted operation cannot be performed in the current state (Powered on)." error

Posted by Paul Braren on Dec 20 2012 in

I'm using VMware ESXi 5.1 and the vCenter 5.1 appliance, and I'm logged in to vCenter with the vSphere Client. I simply try to power on a VM. Up pops this error:

Power-On-virtual-machine-error — “The attempted operation cannot be performed in the current state (Powered on

.”) Occasionally a powered off VM thinks it's already powered on. Nobody likes restarting the ESXi server itself, that's a badge of shame. It's fun to leave things running for 100+ days, even in a home lab. Who wants to disrupt all your other VMs? Note too that the vCenter Service restart [TinkerTry.com/workaround-the-operation-allowed-current-connection-state-host-error-vsphereesxi-5-1](https://tinkertry.com/workaround-the-operation-allowed-current-connection-state-host-error-vsphereesxi-5-1) doesn't work for this particular problem either. The workaround this time around is to clone the virtual machine, assuming you have vCenter, or the far easier [vCenter Server Appliance](https://tinkertry.com/free-vmware-vcenter-server-appliance-5-1-download-install-configure/), already installed. I'll admit, this isn't a proper fix really, it's merely a stop-gap measure. I'm currently unable to locate a real fix. Try a Google search for relevant hits over the last year with this [search](http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&ie=UTF-8#q=%22The+attempted+operation+cannot+be+performed+in+the+current+state+Powered+on.%22&hl=en&tbo=d&source=lnt&tbs=qdr:y&sa=X&ei=EXjTUKmpF4GF2gW4-YG4BA&ved=0CB0QpwUoBQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.1355534169,d.aWc&fp=6eb1946313ccd7d2&bpcl=40096503&ion=1&biw=2560&bih=1296), and you'll see what I mean. So here's the way around this issue, fast, easy, yet safe: **1) login to vCenter with the vSphere Client** Right-click on the virtual machine you have the issue with, choose clone **2) try to power up your cloned VM** I'd rather have a proper, permanent fix to this intermittent issue. If you've located a fix, and even better, tested one, please let us know, by dropping a comment below! The video walk-through/demonstration of the workaround is right here:

--- **Dec. 27 2012 Update:** Site visitor Marcus kindly took the time to add his comments below, suggesting an alternative approach that I just tested to also work! Right-click on the VM, choose "Remove from Inventory", then use Datastore Browser to find the.vmx file again, right-clicking, then choose "Add to Inventory", now you're able to power on.

How to workaround "The attempted operation cannot be performed in the current state (Powered on)." error

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